Thursday, March 26, 2015

During his playing days, Allen Iverson was known for his tenacity, effort, and energy out on the court. Separate criticism aside, no one played harder than Allen Iverson.

Those some qualities can be seen in the Thunder's other-worldly point guard Russell Westbrook, who has been dominating the league since the All-Star break, and is making a serious MVP case for himself.

Image via exnba.com

Thus, it is not so surprising that Westbrook is the recently retired Iverson's favorite player in today's NBA.

"I'm the biggest Russell Westbrook fan I think there is," Iverson revealed in the Sixers' broadcast booth during a game last week.

"He reminds me so much of myself," Iverson continued, "as far as his heart and laying it on the line night in and night out."

The drive and determination displayed by both Iverson and Westbrook are certainly similar.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Allen Iverson wants to stay a Sixer. At least that's what he said in the Sixers' broadcast booth last week.

“I would like to be even in
that war room,” Iverson said of potentially working in a front office capacity. “Even if they don’t go with my decision or
whatever, just to have an opinion and putting out what I think and trusting the
organization to do what’s right.”

Image from forbes.com

When asked what he looks for
when evaluating a player that others might not necessarily pick up on, Iverson
had a simple answer.

“The fight. Their fight. The
fight in a guy. I’m the biggest [Russell] Westbrook fan I think there is,
because he reminds me so much of myself, as far as his heart and laying it on
the line night in and night out.”

Iverson is well-respected for his on-court effort, and his in-game
experiences may provide him with a unique point-of-view when it comes to player
evaluation.

The 11-time All-Star remains
revered in Philadelphia, and draws a crowd at Wells Fargo Center every time he is in attendance. It is amusing to think of him and Sam Hinkie co-exsisting in the war room on draft day.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Last spring, at the Sloan Sports Conference in Boston, Stan
Van Gundy referred to the Sixers, and their route of rebuilding as ‘embarrassing.’

"Not what
Philadelphia is doing right now, which is embarrassing," Van Gundy replied
to a question about tanking. "I don't care, [commissioner] Adam Silver can
say there's no tanking or what's going on [but] if you're putting that roster
on the floor, you're doing everything you can possibly do to try to lose."

Ironically, Sam
Hinkie was present when those comments were made.

Image via foxsports.com

Fast forward to
this March, and Van Gundy’s Pistons sit well out of the Eastern Conference
playoff picture at 24-44; only 8 games ahead of the restructuring Sixers.

With a solid
defensive effort and some tough interior play, the Sixers bested the
lottery-bound Pistons 94-83 on Wednesday night. The Pistons were held 15 points
below their season average, and were limited to only 20 points in the paint
thanks to Nerlens Noel, Thomas Robinson, and the rest of the frontcourt. It was
a solid, albeit not pretty, team win for a team that is building back up after
a deadline day shake-up.

After the game
however, Van Gundy gave the Sixers no credit, placing the loss entirely on his
own team.

“We kept making
the same mistakes, we were never in that game,” he stated.

When asked to
explain his team’s low field-goal percentage against the Sixers, he didn’t mention
anything positive that the Sixers may have done to cause the subpar shooting.

“When you don’t
throw the ball to open people, and continue to force shot in the paint, if we
continue to take those shots against anybody, we’re going to shoot in the 30%
range. It’s the shots were taking. They all come and attack the ball, we’re
taking difficult shots at the rim, there’s people wide open on the perimeter
and we won’t throw it to them.”

He implied that
his team did a poor job of ‘knowing their opponent:’

“It was a total
lack of focus in getting ready for a game and knowing who your opponent is and
taking what you go through in the morning and preparing yourself to play.”

As his media
session was about to end, I asked Van Gundy if the loss to the Sixers was ‘embarrassing’;
a reference to his comments about the Sixers a year earlier. He didn’t respond.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

PHILADELPHIA, PA—MARCH 11, 2015—The Philadelphia 76ers today announced an industry-first enhancement to their existing partnership with daily fantasy sports leader DraftKings, Inc. with the introduction of team prizes and experiences in connection with select free, one-day fantasy basketball contests exclusively for Sixers fans.

With the announcement, the Sixers become the first NBA team to participate in a private DraftKings fantasy basketball contest and the first NBA team to offer team-branded prizes for DraftKings’ online daily fantasy sports.

“We are fortunate to have a partnership with DraftKings that allows us both to develop and create innovative ways to continually enhance our fans' experience in the digital space," said Sixers Chief Executive Officer Scott O'Neil. "This online daily fantasy basketball contest - which is the first of its kind in the NBA - speaks volumes about the vision and groundbreaking direction of DraftKings and the Sixers."

Image via 76ers.

“Daily fantasy sports is undeniably breaking into the mainstream, and contests like this are exciting new territory for the industry,” said DraftKings Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jason Robins. “We’re glad to have the Sixers onboard and willing to pioneer the space with us, and to continue bringing new prizes and exclusive experiences to our users.”

DraftKings, the Official Daily Fantasy Sports Partner of the Sixers, will offer tickets to upcoming Sixers games – either courtside or lower level seats – as prizes to the winner of each free one-day fantasy basketball contest.

Beginning Wednesday, fans will have access to the contest via the Sixers' digital and social platforms or by visitingwww.draftkings.com/sixers. During the 17 single-day contests throughout the rest of the regular season, fans have the opportunity to draft a team of eight (8) NBA players and create a lineup with the object of scoring the most fantasy points.

All contestants must be eighteen (18) years or older to play and live within 75 miles of the Philadelphia city limits. Full schedule of contest dates can be found at www.sixers.com with the below contest dates featuring a grand prize of courtside tickets:

GRAND PRIZE COURTSIDE CONTESTS

PRIZE

Wed. 3/11

2 COURTSIDE TICKETS on Sat. 3/14

Sun. 3/15

2 COURTSIDE TICKETS on Fri. 3/20

Sun. 3/22

2 COURTSIDE TICKETS on Mon. 3/30

Mon. 3/30

2 COURTSIDE TICKETS on Wed. 4/8

Fri. 4/3

2 COURTSIDE TICKETS on Mon. 4/13

Tues. 4/7

2 COURTSIDE TICKETS on Wed. 4/15

Today’s announcement is the latest development in a groundbreaking partnership between the Sixers and DraftKings. On December 2, 2014, the Sixers announced a multi-platform deal that made the team DraftKings’ first NBA partner.

For more information, contact Sixers Public Relations at 215-339-7666.

Rapper 2 Chainz, also known as Tity Boi, an Atlanta native, is a big Hawks fan, and can commonly be seen sitting court side at Philips Arena.

On March 27th however, Chainz will be making the move from courtside to center court.

The Hawks announced that their March 27th game against the Miami Heat would be '2 Chainz night' complete with an introductory performance from the rapper.

In anticipation of 2 Chainz night, the Hawks have released some official 2 Chainz/ Hawks gear.

It is a pretty cool marketing ploy from the Hawks, who continue to be ahead of the curve in that area.

"As an Atlantan, I'm excited to colloborate with my beloved Hawks on March 27 as they face off against the Miami Heat. The Hawks have been 'TRU' to Atlanta this season so it's only right that we come out to support," Chainz said in a statement.

Around the Arc

Around the Arc is run by Michael Kaskey-Blomain. Michael launched ATA in 2009 while attending the University of Pittsburgh. Michael, a member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association, is an Assistant Sports Producer with Philly.com, and contributes to Philadunkia.com, and Queen City Hoops of ESPN's True Hoop Network. Opinions expressed on Around the Arc are soley those of the owner. For questions, comment, or contact Michael can be reached at mkbizzy@gmail.com, or on Twitter @therealmikekb.